Man’s reason for kicking out gen-z step-Son praised: “needs to learn”

A man has been backed by the Reddit community for throwing his step-son out of his home after he pulled a prank on him.

The Reddit user, a 48-year-old who goes by the handle u/Brilliant-Coat5969, revealed that his step-son, Dylan, 22, had recently temporarily moved back home with him and his wife, Karen, 45, while he looks for a job.

Things were going well until two weeks ago when Dylan started spending time with some prankster friends.

The man posted: “A couple of weeks ago, while Karen was out of town visiting her sister, Dylan decided it would be funny to prank me by wrapping all of my work supplies—computer, files, even my chair—in duct tape.

“I work from home, and this was the morning of a big presentation I had spent weeks preparing. I lost it. The tape was impossible to remove without ruining some of my files, and I had to scramble to piece together my presentation,” he wrote.

When the step-father confronted Dylan, he laughed and said he should “chill out” since it was a joke.

When Karen returned, the OP [original poster] told her what had happened and explained that he could not live with someone who didn’t respect him—so Dylan needed to move out.

“He packed up and went to stay with a friend, but now Karen is furious with me. She says I’m being too harsh and that Dylan is ‘just a kid’ who made a dumb mistake,” he wrote.

The dilemma garnered 14,000 upvotes in the subreddit AITAH [Am I The A*****].

Dylan apologized, but the step-dad maintained that actions have consequences.

“Karen thinks I’m being petty and putting my pride above family, but I feel like this is about respect.

“AITAH for not letting Dylan move back in?” the dad asked.

Expert Weighs In

Michael Ceely, a licensed psychotherapist, told Newsweek: “It’s healthy to set boundaries with family members, and that’s what you did with your stepson.

“Good for you. However, it would have been better to consult with your wife before deciding to kick Dylan out of the house.

“Your wife may feel hurt that you didn’t include her in your decision. After all, it is her son. Apologize to your wife for making a unilateral decision, then come to an agreement on consequences for Dylan.”

Reddit Reacts

The Reddit community largely supported the OP for his actions.

“NTA [Not The A******]. He’s 22, not 12. He’s staying at your house for free and he couldn’t even respect your belongings. Your wife needs to cut the umbilical cord,” one user commented.

“That isn’t the real problem I think, especially since he is still a kid according to his actions. The real problem is that even a kid should know better, so the excuse ‘he’s just a kid’ doesn’t fly to begin with,” wrote another.

“NTA—that’s not a prank; it’s literal vandalism. A prank would have been if he wrapped saran wrap over the door or something… annoying, yes, but not destructive to your files. (And the goo on duct tape never comes off furniture, either, unless you use special goo-gone stuff that also strips off the finish…),” added user Secret_Sister_Sarah.

Newsweek reached out to u/Brilliant-Coat5969 for comment via Reddit. We could not verify the details of the case.

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